


Passing the test

by Miralana



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: F/M, Not Canon Compliant, written before the finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-22
Updated: 2013-10-22
Packaged: 2017-12-30 03:05:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1013339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miralana/pseuds/Miralana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the prompt from Anonymous: Aunt Pol and Grace meet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Passing the test

**Author's Note:**

> Somewhere after s1e6, where Tommy knows that Grace was working against him, but they’re still together and kinda happy. **Written _before_ s1e6!** I just like it too much to not post it.

At some point Grace’s life had took a terrible turn. Sometimes she asked herself how she got from being a good girl from a good family, to being an operative working for the crown, to being a barmaid who had thrown away everything that had kept her alive for the past years.

And who managed to stumble upon the most scariest woman she ever met, wearing rumpled clothes and looking like she had just fallen out of bed.

Which was what actually happened, because when Thomas had left this morning he had told her, that she could stay as long as she’d like and it had been so warm and comfortable under the blankets, so she had overslept.

The woman looked her up from the shoes to the head with her eyebrows raised.

“I wasn’t aware, that we have a visitor.” Grace wasn’t sure what to make of her intonation, it sounded like a mix between genuine surprise and suspiciousness, but her face didn’t give anything away, apart from her cold eyes and suddenly Grace felt really young and small.

“I was just… leaving. I’m sorry if I disturbed you.” She said and tried to get past the woman, who just reached out with her arm and put a hand on the wall, blocking Grace’s way.

“I also wasn’t aware, that Tommy is taking his whores home.”

It took a moment for Grace to realise what the woman just had implied and it wasn’t like it was the first time, since people knew about her and Thomas, that she had been called a whore but never directly to her face. Anger rose inside her and she clenched her hand around the band of her handbag.

“I’m not a whore.” She said with a restrained voice and the woman raised her eyebrows.

“You know, I think someone who fucks someone else for money is a whore. And you  _were_  paid for your  _mission_ , weren’t you?”

She  _knew_. How the hell did she knew? Thomas had assured her, that he hadn’t told anyone. On the other side, this was his aunt and rumour had it that they shared everything concerning the family.

“I had already resigned before … before we slept together. It had nothing to do with my mission.”  
“Yes, Tommy said that. Convenient, isn’t it? That you resigned from your duty, _after_  your mission was completed?”

Grace opened the mouth to speak again, to try and defend herself, but the woman hold up her hand.

“You don’t need to tell me more, Miss Burgess, Tommy told me everything. He also told me how smug the dear Inspector was, when he told him how much trouble you caused for us, how  _enthusiastic_  you were to do your job.”

“I bargained for Thomas’ safety! I didn’t know that Mr Campbell wouldn’t stand by his word.”

The woman smiled a cold smile and Grace knew that her words had just been another proof that Grace wasn’t like the Shelby family at all.

“I’m sorry, I’ll just leave.”

This time, the woman let her pass and she already had her hand on the doorknob when realised what leaving this conversation would mean. This wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want to run. She didn’t want to hide. She had accepted, that being in love with Thomas fucking Shelby would be difficult and she wouldn’t run away because one thing wasn’t working out to her liking.

So she turned around, looking into Polly Gray’s satisfied face and straightened her back.

“I know that you don’t like me and that you think less of  _me_  than of  _Mr Campbell_. And I don’t care, I’m not here for you, I’m here for Thomas. And it’s not going to be easy to keep this up if you don’t accept me but it’s not a reason for me to just give up on it, because I love him.”

She took a deep breath, thinking about what she wanted to say next, not caring about the angry expression on Polly’s face.

“It was my fault, that Campbell started a personal vendetta against Thomas and your family. He proposed to me and I rejected him and he knew that it was because of Thomas. I could have had an easy life, but you know what?  _I don’t fucking want it._ ”

This time, there was a smile on Polly’s face and the older woman let out a small deep laugh.

“Well, I think we two should talk about this proposal. Do you drink whiskey?”

 _What_ \- she didn’t get to think that thought to an end, because in the next moment Polly had gripped her arm and pushed her towards a door and after opening it Grace realised that two other woman – one who she recognised as Ada Thorne – had been listening to the whole conversation.

Later that day, when Grace had closed the pub and Thomas had arrived to pick her up, like he often did, he told her that apparently she had passed Aunt Polly’s test.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on [tumblr](http://everknowing.tumblr.com/post/64132646053/prompt-from-anonymous-aunt-pol-and-grace-meet).  
> I just filled another prompt which will be posted in the next hours, so if you'd like me to write anything else [my askbox](http://everknowing.tumblr.com/ask) is open. :)


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